1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a utility knife, and more particularly to a knife having a guide adapted to facilitate opening of packages and cartons.
2. Background Information
It is common practice in various industries for workers to utilize utility knives to cut the top, or end panel, off of a corrugated cardboard package to provide efficient access to product inside. This is typically accomplished by by cutting about the perimeter or edge of the panel and then removing the panel. This activity is common in various industries, such as grocery, restaurant and others in which a relatively large volume of packages are received on a routine basis, which must then be unpacked prior to sale. For example, grocery store stock persons typically use a knife to remove the tops from cardboard boxes to provide quick access to the contents for stocking shelves. Conventional utility knives, however, when used for this purpose tend to be difficult to manipulate accurately and consistently. The knives may slip off the edge of the carton during cutting, creating a potentially dangerous situation. Moreover, the depth of cut is difficult to control, often leading to cuts that are either not deep enough to completely sever the panel, or are so deep as to damage the product inside, resulting in losses.
Attempts to overcome this difficulty have included provision of knifes equipped with various types of blade guides intended to maintain the cutting blade on a preferred trajectory along the edge of the carton. Examples of knives of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,054,198 and 5,285,574. These knives include guides intended to maintain the cutting blades near the edges of the carton blades ostensibly to help prevent them from slipping off the edge during cutting. While these guides may represent an improvement relative to unguided knives, they are not without drawbacks. In particular, while the guides may help prevent the knife from inadvertently slipping off the carton, the depth of cut tends to be difficult to control. Even with such guided knives, a certain degree of skill on the part of a user is generally required to prevent the blade from cutting too deeply and damaging product inside the carton.
Thus, a need exists for a carton knife that is relatively easy to control for improved safety and reduced product damage.